Animal nail clippers



Oct. 11, 1960 c. LAING 2,955,354

ANIMAL NAIL CLIPPERS Filed June 22, 1959 5 15 Q :*Q "J 5i "m -"E W a, 15 13 lllll/CQZZZQfi B) zi wmvflw spaced from the shaped hole normally to hold the United States Patent 2,955,354 ANIMAL NAIL CLIPPERS Charles Laing, 11374 Schaefer Road, Detroit 27, Mich. Filed June 22, 1959, Ser. No. 821,739 3 Claims. (CI. 30-29) The present invention relates to nail clippers and especially those to be used in the cutting of dog nails. The invention concerns clippers of the type comprising a nail holder having a hole to receive the nail to be cut, a first handle extending from the nail holder and a blade adapted to slide over the holder so as to cut or slice oil? that portion of the nail projecting therethrough said blade being manipulated against spring bias by means of a second handle pivotally connected to the first handle.

An object of this invention is to provide means whereby the penetration of a nail through the holder may be limited to a pre-determined amount.

According to the present invention a nail clipper of the type described is characterised in that a gauge arm is mounted on the first handle in a position slightly in the nail holder.

The arm may be straight or may be formed in the shape of a receptacle which can retain nail clippings.

The second handle, pivotally connected to the first handle is preferably connected to the blade through a pivot link, said link being pivotally attached both to the second handle and to the blade, a spring being positioned between the first handle and the pivot link to provide bias normally to hold the blade in a retracted position clear of the hole in the nail holder.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is an elevation of the nail clipper, showing the internal working parts and gauge arm in dashed lines.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the cutter with the blade in the retracted position.

Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 but omitting the gauge arm and showing the blade in a position at the end of a cutting operation.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the gauge arm detached from the cutter.

Figure 5 is an elevation of a further arrangement of the arm and Figure 6 illustrates a modification of the gauge arm.

Referring to the drawing, a dog nail clipper comprises a cutter blade 1 and a nail holder 2 having a shaped hole 3 adapted to be pushed over the nail to be cut. The nail holder 2 is secured by means of screws 4'to one end of a first handle 5, the other end of which is shaped so that it may be comfortably held in the hand of the user.

The cutting blade 1 is actuated by means of a second handle 6 pivotally attached at 7 to the first handle 5, acting through a pivot link 8, this being pivotally attached at 9 to the handle 6 and at 10 to the blade 1. One end of a spring 11 is secured to the link 8 and the other end thereof to a tongue 12 formed on the inner surface of the handle 5. The spring 11 provides a bias blade 1 in the retracted position 2,955,354 Patented Oct. 11, 1960 as seen in Figures 1 and 2. On operation of the handle 6 by squeezing it towards the other handle 5 against the bias of the spring 11, the pivot arm 8 causes the blade 1 to slide over the holder 2 until it reaches the position shown in Figure 3 with that portion of a nail which has been protruding above the hole 3 cut oif.

In order to prevent undue penetration of the nail to be cut through the shaped hole 3 a gauge arm 13 is provided detachably mounted on the handle 5 by means of a band 14 (see Figure 4) by a spring clip 15 (see Figure 5). The arm 13 is spaced just slightly apart from the upper surface of the nail holder so that a nail passing through the hole 3 will abut against the arm 13 and hence only a pre-determined amount of nail will be cut off on operation of the handle 6.

In Figure 6 there is shown a modification in which the gauge arm is formed in the shape of a receptacle 16 to hold the nail cuttings. In this case a plate 17 projecting somewhat over the nail holder and blade, but leaving sufiicient room for a nail to be passed through the hole to abut against the plate 17 until cut, after which the severed portion of the nail drops into the receptacle 16, provided to retain the cuttings Within the receptacle.

It will be appreciated that as in both constructions as the gauge arm is detachably mounted on the first handle by a simple push fit, arms arranged at various heights above the counter-knife may be provided to allow of difiierent lengths of nails being cut. Alternatively the arm may be hingedly connected to the counterknife holder and so arranged that it may be swung adjacent the hole in the nail holder and held there by means of a biased spring so as to limit the projection of a nail through the hole, e.g. to either 4;" or 5 Each projecting portion is then clipped off in the manner herein described. If desired more than one hinging arm may be provided, each arm being differently dimensioned so that according to the amount of nail to be cut oif, so one or other of the arms may be hingedly moved to operative position.

What is claimed is:

1. A nail clipper comprising a first handle, a nail holder extending from said first handle, an aperture in said holder for receiving nail to be cut, a blade arranged for sliding over the holder, so as to cut or slice off that portion of the nail projecting therethrough, a second handle pivotally connected to said first handle, spring bias means between said handles and a gauge arm mounted on said first handle in a position slightly spaced from the aperture in the nail holder'to prevent undue penetration of a nail to be cut.

2. A nail clipper as claimed in claim 1 in which a link is pivotally attached at one end to the second handle and at the other to the blade, spring bias means comprising a spring positioned between the first handle and the pivot link to provide a bias normally to hold the blade in a retracted position.

3. A nail clipper as claimed in claim 1 in which said gauge arm is formed with a recess into which clipped nails can be housed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

